Title: Confessions: The Soul of Leadership
Author: Dr. Charles S. Ricks
Publisher: Seagull Publishers
ISBN: 978-0982163504
Pages: 140, Paperback/Hardcover
Genre: Self-Improvement/Business/Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Brandon Nolta, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
One of the marks of a truly accomplished instructional manual or guide is when someone who is not even close to being in the target demographic can pick up the book, read it and think, “Hey, I could do this.” If someone who isn’t the slightest bit interested in a given field – for example, health care management – can reach that positive vibe, imagine what someone in the field might get from the book. That’s the level of accomplishment Dr. Charles S. Ricks achieves with his guide to management, Confessions: The Soul of Leadership.Written in a straightforward, yet avuncular style, Ricks puts forth a series of sensible principles that lay the foundation for solid, successful leadership, and he does it without the hooey that many “management” books exude. Ricks uses examples, successful and far less so, from his own career to illustrate his points, and while his career and focus is on health care management, every single concept and practice he discusses easily translates toward the larger discipline. Authoritative without being arrogant, Ricks’ warm and generous style gives his explanations a weight many consultants wish they could bottle.
Best of all, Ricks makes his points without belaboring them. His examples are to the point without being simplistic, and he bolsters his ideas with gentle good humor and efficiency. He says what he needs to express, and moves on. That kind of efficient explanation is increasingly rare, and helps to further ground his ideas in common sense. The only real issue with the book is that Ricks may have been a victim of his own success; with Confessions, he covers the topic so well and with such good cheer, it’s hard to imagine what he could add with future editions without upsetting the balance of sense and charm he achieves here. In any case, students of leadership or business would do well to study the forthright lessons Dr. Ricks lays out in his book.
